More than 20 U.S. states urge Korean automakers to do more to...

"The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea," said Tian Junli, a spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command.

Known as the Memphis Regional Megasite, the land designated by the state for industrial development sat unused for years before Ford decided to move in. The automaker announced in September of 2021 that it would build the plant and a joint-venture battery factory on a 3,600-acre (1,460-hectare) parcel of land in rural Stanton, northeast of Memphis. Construction began last year. Ford has said it plans to start production by 2025. (AP) - Ford says its new assembly plant under construction in western Tennessee will be able to build up to 500,000 electric pickup trucks a year at full production. Ford says the assembly and battery plants will employ about 6,000 people with an investment of roughly $5.6 billion.